The Golden Empire

April 4, 2011
One of history's greatest upheavals plays out as melodrama and picaresque in this rousing saga of the founding of Spain's Latin American empire. Picking up after Cortés's capture of Tenochtitlán in 1522, National Book Awardâwinning historian Thomas (An Unfinished History of the World) follows the tiny bands of conquistadores as they fan out across two stunned continents, recounting the subjugations of Guatemala and the Yucatan, Pizarro's conquest of the Incan Empire, Orellano's harrowing voyage down the Amazon, and Coronado's vain quests for riches in the heart of North America. His panorama of the conquest depicts a vast criminal improvisationâthe Spaniards' favorite tactic was to take Indian potentates hostage and demand a ransom in goldâwhose bloody course was further roiled by murderous intrigues and civil wars among its leaders as they quarreled over territory and loot. Focused on the personalities, exploits, and vendettas of individual conquistadores, Thomas's account is almost as chaotic as their adventures; his occasional spotlighting of the distant, preoccupied figure of Spain's King Charles doesn't supply the unifying perspective he wants it to. Still, this story of the desperadoes who stole a hemisphere makes for gripping, old-fashioned narrative history, grand in scope and colorful in detail. Photo inserts; 28 maps.

June 15, 2011

A densely packed narrative of the reign of Emperor Charles V, with emphasis on the conquest of those parts of Latin America allotted to Spain in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). This is the second volume in a projected trilogy, following Rivers of Gold (2005).

Venerable historian Thomas (Eduardo Barreiros and the Recovery of Spain, 2009, etc.) recounts the story of the leading conquistadors (among them Cortés and Pizarro) who overthrew the empires discovered in Mexico and South America, as well as the leaders they defeated, such as Montezuma and Atahualpa. Part of the story involves military tactics—how the indigenous peoples were unable to resist the combination of horse and steel sword in the hands of trained fighters. Another part involves trickery, kidnapping and extortion under threat of death to secure access to gold. Atahualpa delivered thousands of pounds of gold and silver to buy his freedom, only to be killed. The conquering heroes were also everywhere at war with each other over the prospect of funding such unbelievable spoils, and there were heated debates about the indigenous populations, who were being massacred and enslaved. Were they human, or not? How should they be treated? Could they be educated? Thomas ably covers the debate between those who argued for the humanity of the Indians and those who thought them "bestial and ill-intentioned." Ultimately, the Emperor's appetite for gold and silver to finance his wars against the French and Lutherans and pay off his lenders undercut any noble intentions. The methods of slavery and expropriation ruled the day.

Provides much to reflect on today its discussion about the political and military quest for control and dominance of raw materials.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 1, 2011
Succeeding Rivers of Gold (2004), the second volume in Thomas' survey of the Spanish Empire begins in 1522 with the aftermath of Cort's' conquest of Mexico, proceeds through such ensuing subjugations as Pizarro's of Peru, and concludes with the retirement in 1556 of the monarch under whose aegis the empire was amassed, Charles V. Any of the conquistadors, expeditions, and wars embraced by that span is material enough for an entire book, but Thomas places them within a general narrative yoked to the transatlantic connections between America and Europe. Cort's was, in a way, a template. His exploit was a rogue operation, for which he wanted post facto royal sanction that duly came, along with administrators, priests, and fortune-seekers tantalized by prospects of duplicating his success. Detailing the social and geographical origins of his parade of characters, Thomas places their secular and spiritual motives as the foundations for accounts of their activities, which ranged from humane to barbaric. Thomas achieves an impressive historical synthesis in a work suitable for either recreational or scholarly reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

June 15, 2011

A densely packed narrative of the reign of Emperor Charles V, with emphasis on the conquest of those parts of Latin America allotted to Spain in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). This is the second volume in a projected trilogy, following Rivers of Gold (2005).

Venerable historian Thomas (Eduardo Barreiros and the Recovery of Spain, 2009, etc.) recounts the story of the leading conquistadors (among them Cort�s and Pizarro) who overthrew the empires discovered in Mexico and South America, as well as the leaders they defeated, such as Montezuma and Atahualpa. Part of the story involves military tactics--how the indigenous peoples were unable to resist the combination of horse and steel sword in the hands of trained fighters. Another part involves trickery, kidnapping and extortion under threat of death to secure access to gold. Atahualpa delivered thousands of pounds of gold and silver to buy his freedom, only to be killed. The conquering heroes were also everywhere at war with each other over the prospect of funding such unbelievable spoils, and there were heated debates about the indigenous populations, who were being massacred and enslaved. Were they human, or not? How should they be treated? Could they be educated? Thomas ably covers the debate between those who argued for the humanity of the Indians and those who thought them "bestial and ill-intentioned." Ultimately, the Emperor's appetite for gold and silver to finance his wars against the French and Lutherans and pay off his lenders undercut any noble intentions. The methods of slavery and expropriation ruled the day.

Provides much to reflect on today its discussion about the political and military quest for control and dominance of raw materials.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)